Under a Red Roof

October Sun

October 27, 2008 in Being, Loving by Colleen | 1 comment

Do you ever have those times when you realize that your life really is something special, that it is filled with remarkable people and perfect days? So much so that you wish you could take it with both hands and dance around the room, laughing and twirling with glee? That is how I feel when I reflect on this past weekend. I want to take my lovely life for a joyful spin on the dance floor, and whisper in her ear, “This is it; you need no more, no less.”

It began with a phone call, that led to another, and an impromptu dinner party Friday night at Bridget’s. We stayed way past bed time, listening to great music, chatting about all manner of things, receiving “smoothing” lessons from sweet Stella, eating, drinking, and loving it all.

Saturday found us in the yard, attending to the needs of the birds, enjoying the sun with Milo and Paris, before venturing to the other side of town, in search of corduroys, but finding some cake, too.

Then there was Sunday, glorious Sunday. Late to rise, we walked over to Sweetness for a bit of a farewell (the reason will come later), before continuing on to the library, poring over books of all shapes and sizes, bringing many home. All the while, we chatted happily – of big ideas, and tiny random thoughts, with sprinkles of kisses and hugs.

Yes, this weekend was a keeper of the highest order for the Pollyanna file. How about yours?

Feeling Grateful

October 6, 2008 in Feeling, Loving, Thinking by Colleen | 1 comment

I’ve been having a difficult time accessing my inner Pollyanna these last few weeks, and all my usual tricks to make myself feel better – exercise, gardening, cooking, home projects – aren’t having their desired effect, so here is a little something I saw over at my friend Kelli’s to help me through.

Reasons I feel grateful today:

1. My cute partner in crime pictured above. I love him and our life together more than words can say.

2. Also, to toot my own horn – I’m pretty fond of the composition of the above photo – the reflection in the mirror and the window are soo good lookin’ (a little Seinfeld never hurts either).

3. I’ve almost made up my mind about all of these candidates, and there is less than a month left of television ads. Yippee!

4. Not-so-guilty pleasure – I got Sex and the City: The Movie on DVD! Maybe I should put some new batteries in the remote, because, gentle readers, I’m going to be pressing the pause button a-plenty analyzing all those wardrobe changes.

5. Time with good friends – Nia with Mara, movies with Bridget, and long phone conversations with Sarah, not to mention the upcoming Bunco night with the whole posse!

6. The rain is back and my grass is turning green again…

Ahh, that helped!

Tiny Holes and Grace

August 6, 2008 in Being, Feeling, Loving, Receiving, Thinking by Colleen | 2 comments

I was lying on the sofa, reading, when I glanced up at the light. Ugh, it’s got dead bugs in it, I thought rather loudly to myself. As I stared at their little dead bodies, I lamented the sometimes insidious nature of insects, and how they often create work for me. Like how, now that I’ve noticed them, I’ll have to go through the hassle of getting the step ladder, carefully removing the fixture, and cleaning it all up – definitely not on the top ten list of cherished activities (though what is? hmmm…).

Then, as I continued gazing at the light, I wondered, how do the little critters get in there anyway? Though you can barely see them in the photo, they only appear to be specks, they seem too large to have crawled in through a hole. Yet, there they are.

This got me thinking some more about how tiny, often imperceptible, holes in my being act as an entry point on a spiritual and emotional level. I thought about people and events that I don’t like, and how little bits of them squeeze their way through a perforation in my shell and infest my mind with angry and unkind thoughts. I really hate it when that happens, especially when I know how much lovelier life is when I’m not tumbling down to the lower depths.

Then, as grace would have it, I also thought about those same holes, and how the most wonderful and generous gifts enter through them: a smile when I least expect it, a kind word, the light in the hallway, the sight of my husband, a million different instances that spread like the light of dawn in my heart.

Suddenly I felt tears prick at my eyes, and I looked at the bugs again but this time with gratitude. Thank you for bringing this bit of grace into my life.

Happy

August 5, 2008 in Loving, Quoting by Colleen | 2 comments

“Very little is needed to make a happy life.”

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus

I spent about ten minutes dashing about the house like a spaz, looking for the camera. I was just so darned happy to see this beautiful light streaming down the stairs and had to capture it.

This is something I absolutely adore about our house – the light. During daylight hours, no matter the time of year, it is always beautiful. Sometimes it is bright, like this photo. Other times, it is cool, or diffused by the myriad leaves on the surrounding trees. Most importantly, it is always pleasant, always there.

It is such a treasure to have something so ordinary as light, so everyday, be so wonderfully pleasing. Marcus Aurelius certainly had it right. I am indeed living a happy life.

Branches on the Tree

July 22, 2008 in Loving, Remembering by Colleen | 1 comment

As part of our trip east, we drove (rather Gregory did) my grandparents to New Mexico so they could visit with my grandpa’s older sister Shirley. They spent three days together in Albuquerque while we were gallivanting around Santa Fe and Ojo Caliente. We met up on the final leg of their Albuquerque journey, and got to see Shirley, too. I had only met her once when I was very little, and actually have no recollection of her, just her house. It was far from the hotel where we stayed and had a lot of wood paneling. Aren’t memories funny?

I think my grandma jinxed this picture. They were both smiling nicely and looking at the camera, when she exclaimed, “I never take a good picture!” Well, whaddya know, it is a little blurry, and neither one of them is looking in the same direction. They both look happy, though. That is what really counts.

Look at this handsome couple: my Mom and Daddy, high school sweehearts that will be married for forty years in September!

Here we are, all together – the infamous Sohn family. We all look so happy because we ate dinner together for the first time since, jeez, I don’t know. It didn’t hurt that our bellies were filled with Daddy’s yummy green chile. Food IS love sometimes, especially when it is Mexican. Left to right, Aaron (the baby), Colleen (number two daughter), Mom, Daddy, Lara (number one daughter), and Chris (right after me). It is a good picture. I’ll bet my mom gets misty when she looks at it.

My adorable nephews – they are Lara’s boys, though not for much longer. Chaz, on the left, is sixteen! Jett is nine! That makes me feel much older than I look, I hope.

A little background – this is the yard where I grew up. It is rather large, and full of fun places for hiding and adventure. The boys are sitting on and we are standing in front of one of a series of rocks that divide the upper and lower parts. When we were little, we used to have so much fun racing, jumping from rock to rock. I tried it again this time, but, even with longer legs, I’m not as fast as I once was. I think a fear of falling has something to do with it. I find it amazing to think of all I was capable of doing before fear came into the picture. I think I’ll post more about that later…